


Carnival of the Dead

by ilovehowyouletmefall



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 03:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/908295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovehowyouletmefall/pseuds/ilovehowyouletmefall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Chosen, the Council is up and running again; what does Giles dream about? Nothing good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carnival of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> There's character death, but it's just in the dream sequence.

Giles walked along the midway, Willow at his side.  
  
“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” she asked, wide Willow-smile on her face.   
  
There were girls everywhere, dodging between the tombstones, lining up to play games. Giles stopped to watch one of them throw foam balls at a pop-up vampire. She missed on the first try, and Giles opened his mouth to give her some advice. Before he could speak, however, the carnival barker manning the game seized the girl and bit into her neck, draining her quickly. He tossed he body to the side of the booth, on top of a pile of what Giles only just realized were the dead bodies of other girls.   
  
“Alright, who’s next?” he called, and the other girls in line clamoured for their chance.   
  
“I don’t like this…” Giles muttered.  
  
“Oh, come on, it’s bloody brilliant!” the young witch cajoled him. “Ooh! Carousel! Come on!” She sprinted off to the brightly-lit merry-go-round at the centre of the midway.  
  
“Willow! Come back! Don’t get too far ahead!” Giles called after her. Either she couldn’t hear, or she didn’t listen.   
  
Out of breath, Giles jogged up to the line for the carousel. Willow was already there.   
  
“I saved you a place in line,” she told him.   
  
As Giles watched the carousel spinning, he began to recognize the riders. Amanda, Cho-Ahn, Nora, other girls he had tracked down to bring to Sunnydale, but hadn’t reached in time, too many to remember their names. Watchers too, people he had gone to school with, whom he had known since childhood… all laughing and chatting with each other merrily, their voices only just audible over the loudly tinkling music.   
  
“I don’t think I’ll go…” he responded, still watching the ride.   
  
“But it’ll be fun!” Giles turned to the familiar voice, and saw Anya was in line with Willow. “There’s lots of different animals to choose from. Lions and tigers and shrimp and foxes… no bunnies, thank the gods.” Anya laughed.   
  
“I just want to ride one of the ponies,” said Tara, who was standing next to Anya.  
  
“Ooh! We can ride one together!” Suggested Willow, and Tara nodded eagerly.   
  
“Are you coming or not?” Anya asked as the carousel slowed to a halt.  
  
“I… I’d rather not.”   
  
Anya shrugged. “Suit yourself.”  
  
The gate opened, and the girls all rushed to take a place on the merry-go-round, though Giles noticed that none of the previous riders got off. It started spinning, the music playing at a manic pace, the laughter of the riders sounding panicked and insane.   
  
“You should have gone with them.” Giles turned to see Joyce at his side, watching the ride with a stony expression. “That’s your job, isn’t it? To watch over them?”   
  
“I-I am…” Giles turned back to the carousel, as though to prove that he was in fact watching, but found that he could no longer distinguish one face from the next.   
  
Joyce shook her head forlornly. “You should have gone too.”  
  
“Don’t listen to her, she’s not who you think.”   
  
Giles turned to his other side. “Jenny…?”  
  
“Shut up, you,” Joyce growled harshly.   
  
Giles ignored her, gaze fixed on the familiar dark eyes before him. “Jenny, what are you doing here?”  
  
“I’m trying to give you a message,” she said, irritation rising in her voice. “There’s something seriously wrong here, you must’ve noticed.”   
  
“I… what am I supposed to do?”   
  
Jenny shook her head. “Wrong question, England. You…” Giles listened carefully, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying, she was drowned out by the carousel music.  
  
“I… I can’t hear you.”  
  
“Come away from here,” Jenny began to lead the way away from the ride.   
  
Giles glanced back at the carousel. “But I can’t leave them.”   
  
“There’s nothing you can do for them,” she said firmly. “You have to come away. Now.”   
  
He hesitated.  
  
“Hurry!”  
  
He looked back at the carousel one more time. It was slowing down.  
  
“It’s too late,” he heard Jenny’s voice behind him.   
  
Giles turned to her, but she was gone.   
  
When he turned back, the carousel was empty and dark. Willow stood before him. She was glaring, eyes dark.  
  
“Willow, what…?” He couldn’t understand what had happened to her.   
  
Her skin was pale and lifeless. Bits of her flesh began to corrode and rot away. She opened her mouth in a manic grin, and her mouth was full of worms and maggots. Giles felt ill.   
  
“Willow…”   
  
She laughed. “What did you expect, Ripper?” A green light flashed in her eyes. Even as her flesh dissolved off her bones, she sprang at him, arms reaching for his neck.   
  
Giles was frozen, too stunned to move. The moment before Willow reached him, a blade, seemingly from nowhere, swung through the air and severed her head. Her body collapsed on the ground, rotted into soil, while her head rolled away out of sight. Giles stood, breathless, staring at the place where Willow had been.   
  
Then, the owner of the blade – the scythe – stepped into view.   
  
“Buffy! Thank God you’re here.”   
  
The Slayer raised her face to him. She was cold, emotionless.   
  
Then, without warning, her features changed: her brow became prominent and wrinkled, her eyes yellow and predatory, her teeth grew into fangs. A growl escaped her throat.   
  
The last thing Giles saw was the scythe swinging toward his head.   
  
Then he woke up.   
  
Giles raised his head from his desk, adjusting his glasses that had been set askew. He picked up the phone, which was ringing persistently.  
  
“Yes? What is it?” he asked irritably.  
  
“Ms. Summers here to see you sir,” came Andrew’s voice, irrepressibly enthusiastic.   
  
Giles sighed. “Send her in.”


End file.
